Ride Home
by Lufia1
Summary: Second story in the trilogy. Seiya goes to pick Usagi up from the library.


Ride Home   
By: Lufia   
  
Note: Sailor Moon doesn't belong to me, but you knew that already.   
  
  
A white sports car pulled up in front of a tall apartment building in the middle of the Azabu district, splashing the sidewalk as it did so. The rain was coming down hard, almost like hail, as a young man stepped out of the car and slammed the door behind him. "Arigato, Haruka-san. Ja!" The woman driving the car waved as another woman climbed into the front seat from the back, and drove off down the rain-soaked street. The boy sprinted toward the main door of the complex, swiping his key hurriedly and bursting inside.   
  
"Kou-san," the porter acknowledged, nodding. The young man turned, his long black ponytail swishing and sending water droplets flying. He nodded and bowed to the porter before heading over to the elevator.   
  
"It's a good thing this jogging suit was waterproof," he said, punching the button. He started slightly as a high-pitched beeping sounded from his pants pocket. He withdrew his cell phone and pulled out the antenna, punching the send button at the same time. "Moshi moshi?" he asked.   
  
"Seiya-kun!" came a high voice over the receiver. "Thank goodness. You can help me, can't you? It's Usagi."   
  
Seiya smiled as he stepped onto the elevator, hitting the button for the top floor. "I'll try, Odango, but I can't promise anything. What's wrong?"   
  
"I'm at the library, and I'm stuck because of the rain. Mama and papa are out tonight, and Mamo-chan is working, and I can't get hold of Haruka-san or Setsuna-san, and I really need to get home to study for a test on Monday and I have this report to do and…"   
  
"Slow down, Odango," Seiya said, clutching the phone with both hands. "I just got home myself, from the gym. Haruka-san gave me a ride, so you just missed her. Yaten wanted my car to go clubbing tonight."   
  
"Then I'm stuck here!" Usagi wailed over the phone.   
  
Seiya held the receiver away from his ear for several seconds, then spoke again. "I'm almost up to my apartment. Let me see if either of my brothers are home yet, and if so I'll have a car to take. I'll call you back if I can't come get you. Otherwise, I'll see you in about twenty minutes or so, okay?"   
  
"Hai!" Usagi said. She quickly gave Seiya the number of the pay phone at the library, and hung up to wait for him.   
  
Seiya stepped out of the elevator and sighed. "Odango serious about her studies. I never thought I'd see the day." He shook his head and walked down the hall toward the apartment he shared with his brothers. "I'll just get changed first, and then see who's home, if anyone. I'd hate to disappoint her by leaving her stranded at the library of all places. She wouldn't mind if it was the arcade." Seiya rooted around in his pocket for the key, and was surprised to discover that the door had been left open. He raised an eyebrow. None of his brothers were careless to leave the door unlocked when they were out, so that meant someone must either be home, or the door had been forced.   
  
Taking a deep breath, Seiya slowly opened the door to the apartment, his body tense for a fight. He stepped into the room and blinked, squinting in the dim light. "Candles?" he wondered aloud. The living room of the apartment was bathed in candlelight, which was fading quickly. Several of the candles had already burned themselves out, and several more were in danger of doing the same very soon. Seiya flipped on the main light, revealing a mess on the living room table. Two half-eaten plates of food were left there, as well as two empty wine flutes. Seiya headed over the table to investigate, and nearly tripped. He bent down to see what made him stumble, and was surprised to find a small white towel in a heap in the middle of the floor. He picked it up, noting that it was slightly damp, and carried it with him to the table. He took a forkful of the meat on one of the plates and chewed it thoughtfully. "Fillet mignon?" he guessed. That was puzzling. Yaten had bought that for their celebration of Kakyuu-hime's birthday in two weeks, not for some random meal. And the atmosphere certainly didn't imply that Yaten and Taiki had decided to eat expensively. The room was more intimate than that.   
  
Sighing, Seiya took the two plates and wineglasses into the kitchen and set them down in the sink. He decided to leave them for whichever brother had neglected to clean up their meal. He dropped the towel in the hamper, and noticed the light on the dryer blinking. He lifted up the lid to the machine, and was surprised to find a girls' skirt, slip, blouse, and blazer, as well as undergarments, inside. He shut the lid carefully, suddenly becoming very aware of the apartment. Someone was here with one of his brothers, and he didn't want to intrude on their privacy if he could help it. He did want to get changed, though.   
  
Seiya turned and walked to the door that separated their private rooms from the house proper. The door was shut, and a message was written on the board beside it. "Do not disturb, please, Taiki. Well, that answers one question," Seiya thought to himself. He gently pushed the door open, walking quietly to his own room and shutting himself inside, trying not to listen to any house noises. He changed quickly, putting on a simple white T-shirt and black jeans. He exited his room as quietly as he had entered and padded down to the bathroom, holding his sneakers in one hand. He flipped on the light and dug under the sink for a fresh towel, noting the dark blue one draped over the side of the bathtub. He straightened up, rubbing his ponytail with a yellow towel, when his eye caught something unfamiliar on the vanity. He turned to look at it, recognizing it as a senshi henshin wand. He picked it up carefully, turning it over in his hands, until he could see the symbol on the sphere at the top of the wand.   
  
"Mercury," he whispered, placing the wand back on the counter. He looked out toward Taiki's room. "Ami-san." Seiya resisted the urge to chuckle, and tiptoed out of the bathroom and out into the main house, closing the door to the hall quietly behind him. "Well I never," Seiya said, shaking his head. He grabbed his raincoat, stopped at the refrigerator for a soda, and retrieved Taiki's keys from the key rack on the kitchen wall. He glanced back at the door to their rooms, then fished a post-it note and pen out of the kitchen drawer. He scrawled a quick note on one of the pieces of paper and took it with him when he left the apartment, sticking it on the outside of their front door for Yaten's benefit. He sat down in the hall and put his sneakers on, then jogged to the elevator and hit the button for the parking garage.   
  
Once he was in the elevator, Seiya burst out laughing. He leant against the wall of the box, his sides heaving, tears coming to his eyes. "I never thought Taiki would…" he trailed off, laughing harder. "And Ami-san…." The elevator door opened, and Seiya made an effort to compose himself as he stepped out into the parking garage. He spotted Taiki's large gray van a few rows over and trotted to it, unlocking the door and hopping inside quickly. He gunned the engine and headed out of the parking garage and onto the wet streets. The rain was still coming down hard, and Seiya could hear thunder echoing in the distance.   
  
"Odango must be frightened to no end," he said, speeding toward the Juuban Public Library. He drove as quickly as he could without compromising his own or the other drivers' safety, since the roads were so slick he didn't want to speed. He pulled up to the huge library a few moments later, parking in one of the meter spaces next to the massive building. He got out of the van, pulled his raincoat on, and plunked a couple of coins in the meter before dashing up the steps and into the foyer of the library. He looked around, spying a blonde, pigtailed young woman sitting by the phones, her nose buried in a book. He smirked at her and walked over. She didn't seem to notice his approach.   
  
"I never thought I'd see the day Odango immersed in a work of great literature, oblivious to the world around her," Seiya said, squeezing one of the round buns which topped her pigtails, earning her the name 'Odango' from friends. The girl started and looked up, glaring, but her features softened as she recognized Seiya. He laughed quietly at her reaction.   
  
"Seiya-kun!" she whispered, slamming her book shut and hopping up. She flung her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. "My hero!"   
  
Seiya smiled at her playfully and returned her embrace. He let her go and picked up her book bag for her, taking the volume in her hand and inspecting the spine. "Crime and Punishment?" he asked, looking from the book to Usagi.   
  
"We're being tested on it Monday, so I'm rereading it very carefully," Usagi said, smiling. "It's not too bad, if you can get past the endless description and useless dialogue."   
  
"You're starting to sound like Taiki," Seiya said, dropping the book in her bag. He took off his raincoat and offered it to her. "It's really pouring out there, and you don't have a coat. Take mine."   
  
"What will you do?" Usagi asked.   
  
Seiya grinned and stood up straight. "I'm a first-class athlete. I can sprint down to the van and get there before getting soaked no problem!"   
  
Usagi giggled and took the coat, shrugging into it and rolling up the sleeves so they fit properly. "The van?" she asked. "Yaten wasn't home yet?"   
  
Seiya shook his head.   
  
"I'm glad Taiki was then," Usagi smiled. "He let you take his precious van?"   
  
Seiya blushed. "I couldn't exactly ask him."   
  
"Was he asleep?"   
  
"In a manner of speaking."   
  
Usagi looked at Seiya curiously. He laughed nervously. "I'll tell you once we get to the van. Come on, I'll race you!" He turned and dashed for the door, Usagi's school bag slung over his shoulder.   
  
"Seiya-kun!" Usagi whispered harshly, running after him and shrugging apologetically at the other library patrons. She pushed the big doors open and immediately shrieked with fright as a lightening bolt arced across the sky, followed quickly by a boom of thunder. Seiya looked up at her from the bottom step and rushed back up the stairs, putting his arms around her.   
  
"It's okay, Odango. The thunder is far off. I'll get you safely home before it reaches Juuban. Come on." He took Usagi by the hand and led her down the steps, ignoring the raindrops which were seeping through his clothes. He walked with her all the way to the van, and unlocked the passenger door first, helping her inside. He closed the door once she had gotten her seatbelt on, then walked around to the driver's side and hopped in.   
  
"Arigato, Seiya-kun," Usagi said quietly, fiddling with one of the fastenings on his jacket.   
  
Seiya smiled over at her, then passed her his cell phone. "Do you want to call Mamoru-san to let him know you've got a ride home?" he asked.   
  
Usagi's eyes lit up, and she snatched the phone from Seiya's hands, punching in the numbers eagerly as he backed out of the parking lot. "Moshi moshi, may I please speak to Chiba Mamoru? Tsukino Usagi," she said, sounding her most serious all evening. Seiya laughed silently at her. "Mamo-chan!" Usagi lilted into the phone suddenly. "Hai, I got a ride home. Seiya-kun. Hai. You're so sweet, Mamo-chan! Okay, call me when you get home, I understand. Ai shite, Mamo-chan. Ja ne!" Usagi punched the end button and pushed the antenna back down, glancing over at Seiya. "Mamo-chan says thanks for giving me a ride. He's very grateful."   
  
"I'm glad to be of help," Seiya said, turning a corner.   
  
"Seiya-kun?"   
  
"Hai, Odango?"   
  
"What did you mean in the library, about Taiki kind of being asleep?"   
  
Seiya blushed again and gave a short, hollow laugh. "Um, well…"   
  
"Oh!" Usagi said, suddenly realizing what Seiya had meant, and blushing as well. "Gomen ne, I didn't mean to pry."   
  
"It's not your fault, Odango. You asked an innocent enough question. In other circumstances, the answer would have been perfectly fine to give." Seiya chuckled as he turned into Usagi's driveway. "Here you go, home safe and sound."   
  
Usagi grinned happily, unbuckling her seat belt. She peeled Seiya's jacked off, then reached over and hugged him tightly. "Arigato, Seiya-kun. I'll see you in school on Monday?"   
  
"You can't have any fun this weekend?" Seiya asked, feigning disappointment. Usagi put a finger to her lips, pretending to think. "Maybe a little on Sunday, if I do a lot of work between now and then." She picked up her bag and opened the door to the van. "Ja!"   
  
"Ja, Usagi-chan!"   
  
Usagi flashed him her biggest smile, then rushed up to the front door of her house, key in hand. She unlocked the door, waved to Seiya, then disappeared inside, shutting the door behind her.   
  
Seiya sighed. "I hope you realize how lucky you are, Mamoru-san," he said. He shifted the van into reverse and backed out of the Tsukino's driveway and onto the road. "Now to find something to do for a couple of hours."


End file.
